Preview: Luton Town vs. Liverpool
Liverpool look to continue their good form against the newly promoted Luton Town.
LUTON TOWN VS. LIVERPOOL
| Sunday, November 5th |
Premier League | Kenilworth Road
4:30PM GMT/11:30AM EST
Liverpool have won their last four games in three separate competitions. They ended October with a 3-0 victory against Nottingham Forest. They currently stand in fourth place, three points behind Tottenham Hotspur. Midweek, they powered through a storm (a literal storm, not the metaphorical one the fans sing about in every game) in Bournemouth to advance to the quarterfinals of the Carabao Cup.
The Reds will likely still be without Luis DÃaz as he deals with family issues that are much more important than football. Cody Gakpo started midweek and scored, so there’s a chance that he’ll be leading the line again. More likely, though, is that the trio of Diogo Jota, Darwin Núñez, and Mohamed Salah will again take on the challenge of opening the Luton Town defense.
Newly promoted Luton Town have endured a hard first quarter of a season back in the Premier League. They currently sit in the drop zone with only five points from their first 10 fixtures. Their lone Premier League victory came at the expense of Everton at the end of September. They’ll be hoping, despite the odds, to make it a Merseyside double on Sunday afternoon.
Luton Town have yet to keep a clean sheet, but to their credit, have mostly minimized the goals conceded to one or two per game. The big problem they face is a severe lack of goals to make up for their defensive missteps.
They failed to score in four out of their 12 games played in all competitions and have only scored 12 goals in total. This is in contrast to Liverpool, who have also fumbled a lot in defense, but have almost always banded together to win.
Predicted Liverpool Lineup (4-3-3)
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Gravenberch; Salah, Núñez, Jota
Andy Robertson continues his long road to recovery from his recent shoulder surgery, which means that it’s another game for Kostas Tsimikas to show his skill partnered with Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Other absences include the previously noted Luis DÃaz, whose personal trauma is hopefully close to a happy conclusion, and the long-term sidelined duo of Stefan Bajcetic and Thiago Alcantara. Ben Doak faces a late fitness test.
For Luton Town, Rob Edwards will be without Jordan Clark and Amari’i Bell.
What the Managers Had to Say
Jurgen Klopp: “I’m really looking forward to it, it’s exciting and I love the story. I don’t really know but I don’t think anybody expected Luton to get promoted last year; they did an exceptional job there.”
Rob Edwards: “Most people don’t [stop Salah], so we’ve got to be really good and we’ve got to defend well as a team. At the right moments, we’ve got to be good with the ball and try to attack at the right speed.”
The Officials
Referee: Andy Madley. Assistants: Harry Lennard, Nick Hopton. Fourth official: Anthony Taylor. VAR: Craig Pawson. Assistant VAR: Simon Long.
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Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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